Free sample of the Ice Cream Formulation course · module 1 of 11
M00 · The 100 base · 20 min
🔓 Open lesson — M00 and M01 are the free sample of the course: they are published in full, without buying anything.
1 · Objective
By the end of this module you will be able to explain why in ice cream making —and in FormulaMaps— you never formulate in loose grams but "per 100"; you will be able to work out by hand the scale factor that turns a real batch weighed on the scale into its base 100 formula, and the reverse path for producing any size of tub from that formula; and you will be able to read the FormulaMaps panel, identifying the real weight, the weight percentage and the target weight.
2 · Content in detail
2.1 · Why "per 100" and not in grams
A recipe in grams forces you to redo the calculations every time the batch size changes, and it doesn't let you compare two recipes of different sizes. That is why you always formulate in base 100: each ingredient as a percentage of the total weight. The percentage is the formula; the grams of a particular tub are only its execution at a given size — that is how total solids, free water, POD (sweetening power) and PAC (anti-freezing power) work in the coming modules.
2.2 · The real weight: what the scale says
The real weight is what you weigh out of each ingredient and type into FormulaMaps. Fix in your mind now the example recipe that comes back in M01 and M02 — milk ice cream: Whole milk 3.5% fat (640 g), Cream 35% fat (120 g), Skimmed milk powder (40 g), Sucrose (160 g), Dextrose (40 g).
The engine adds up all the real weights into the total batch weight:
640 + 120 + 40 + 160 + 40 = 1,000 g
2.3 · The scale: from grams to percentage
FormulaMaps calculates the scale, which turns the real batch into its base 100 formula:
scale = 100 ÷ total weight
With our 1,000 g batch: scale = 100 ÷ 1,000 = 0.1. Multiply each real weight by the scale (weight % = real weight × scale):
| Ingredient | Real weight (g) | Weight % |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk 3.5% fat | 640 | 64 |
| Cream 35% fat | 120 | 12 |
| Skimmed milk powder | 40 | 4 |
| Sucrose | 160 | 16 |
| Dextrose | 40 | 4 |
| Total | 1,000 | 100 |
Shortcut with a 1,000 g batch: divide each weight by 10. But scale = 100 / total_weight is the formula the engine applies with any total weight.
2.4 · The reverse path: from the formula to the batch you are going to make
With the formula in percentages (64 / 12 / 4 / 16 / 4) you produce any batch size without rethinking the proportions:
real weight = weight % × target weight ÷ 100
If tomorrow you make 3,500 g of the same recipe:
| Ingredient | Weight % | Weight to make (3,500 g) |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk 3.5% fat | 64 | 2,240 g |
| Cream 35% fat | 12 | 420 g |
| Skimmed milk powder | 4 | 140 g |
| Sucrose | 16 | 560 g |
| Dextrose | 4 | 140 g |
| Total | 100 | 3,500 g |
The percentages do not change when the batch size changes; only the grams you weigh change. Rule of this module: percentage = recipe, grams = the execution of that recipe at a particular size.
2.5 · The FormulaMaps panel
On the formulation screen, each ingredient has two columns: real weight (you type it in) and weight % (the engine calculates it with the formula from 2.3). At the top, the target weight field: change it and FormulaMaps instantly recalculates all the grams with the formula from 2.4, without touching the percentages. Below the table, the verdict on the recipe (M01 and M02 explain how the engine decides it). From here on, the whole course leans on the weight% column: it is the language of FormulaMaps.
3 · Key formulas and numbers
- Scale:
scale = 100 / total_weight(total_weight = the sum of the real weights of all the ingredients in the recipe) - From real weight to weight %:
weight% = real_weight × scale - From weight % to real weight (target batch):
real_weight = weight% × target_weight / 100 - The sum of all the weight% values of a correctly calculated recipe always comes to 100 (with a rounding margin of hundredths).
- The total weight of the batch can be any number (1,000 g, 3,500 g, 8,200 g…); "base 100" refers to the calculation SCALE, not to the physical size of the batch.
4 · Common mistakes (minimum 4)
- Confusing the real weight with the percentage → this happens when you read "640" in the grams column and interpret it as if it were 640%. In FormulaMaps you can see it because the weight% of that row comes out absurd (far above 100) or the total of the percentages doesn't add up. You fix it by always looking at the weight% column, never the grams column, to read the real proportion of an ingredient.
- Touching the target weight thinking it changes the recipe → this happens when you confuse "making more quantity" with "changing the formula". In FormulaMaps the weight% of each row does not move when you change the target weight; only the grams move. If the % changed when the size changed, the recipe would no longer be the same recipe. You fix it by remembering the rule from 2.4: percentage = recipe, grams = execution.
- Adding up weights in mixed units (some ingredients in grams, others in kilos, without converting) → the total weight comes out wrong, the scale comes out wrong, and all the percentages of the recipe come out wrong even if each individual weight was weighed correctly. You fix it by always converting everything to the same unit (grams) before typing it in.
- Thinking that "base 100" means the batch has to weigh 100 g → it doesn't: you can formulate a 1,000 g tub, a 3,500 g tub or a 22 kg one and it will still be "base 100" because the calculation goes through the scale 100/total_weight; the number 100 is the reference for the percentage, not the physical size of the batch.
5 · Practice in FormulaMaps (checked by the engine)
- Open a new recipe of the type "Milk ice cream".
- Enter these 5 ingredients with their real weight in grams: Whole milk 3.5% fat (640), Cream 35% fat (120), Skimmed milk powder (40), Sucrose (160), Dextrose (40).
- Calculate and check the weight% column: it should read 64 / 12 / 4 / 16 / 4, and the sum of that column should come to 100.00 (or 99.99-100.01 because of rounding).
- Change the "target weight" field to 3,500 g without touching any real weight in the original table. The grams of each row should recalculate on their own to 2,240 / 420 / 140 / 560 / 140, and the weight% column should not move by a single decimal.
- Pass criterion: the sum of the weight% column is 100 (± 0.01) both before and after changing the target weight, and the grams from step 4 match weight% × 3,500 / 100 for each row.
6 · Quiz (5 questions)
- Why does FormulaMaps calculate "per 100" instead of working directly in grams?
a) Because that way the batch always weighs 100 g
b) Because the percentage doesn't change even if the batch size changes, and it lets you compare recipes ✓
c) Because grams can't be added up
Why: the percentage is the formula; the gram is only the execution at a particular size.
- What is the scale formula the engine uses?
a) scale = total_weight / 100
b) scale = 100 / total_weight ✓
c) scale = total_weight × 100
Why: it is the exact formula FormulaMaps applies to go from grams to percentage.
- An ingredient weighs 160 g in a batch whose total weight is 1,000 g. What weight% does it correspond to?
a) 1.6 %
b) 60 %
c) 16 % ✓
Why: 160 × (100/1,000) = 160 × 0.1 = 16.
- If you change the target weight of a recipe from 1,000 g to 3,500 g, what happens to the weight% of each ingredient?
a) They are multiplied by 3.5 as well
b) They don't change: it is still the same formula ✓
c) They are recalculated from the new total in grams
Why: the percentage is the recipe; only the grams of execution change.
- A batch actually weighs 3,500 g. Is it still a "base 100" formula?
a) No, "base 100" requires the batch to weigh 100 g
b) Yes, because the calculation goes through the scale 100/total_weight, whatever the real weight ✓
c) Only if it is rounded to 100 g
Why: base 100 is the calculation scale, not the physical size of the batch.